Truck-machine for automatically applying brakes.



Patentdl Mar. I8, |902.`

. B. C. HOWELL. TRUCK MACHINE FORAUTOMATICALL'Y APPLYING BRAKES.

(Application fled May 19, 1900.)

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fno. 695,650. Patented Mar. la, |902. l e, c. nuwELL.

TRUCK MACHINE FUR AUTUMATIGALLY APPLYING BRAKES. (Application led May 19, 1800.)

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" NITED STATES PATENT?, OFFICES f BENTON C. ROWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROWELL POTTER SAFETY STOP COMPANY RATION OF MAINE.

, OF PORTILJAND, MAINE, A CORPO- TRUCK-MACHINE. FOR AUTOMATICALLY A'PPLYING BRAKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,650, dated March 18, 1902.

Application filed May 19, 1900. Serial No. 171242. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENTON C. RowELL, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Truck- Machine for Automatically Applying Brakes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is an elevation of an engineers valve and electric controller with the main portions of my invention in section. Fi'g. 2 is an elevation, on asmallcr scale, illustrating myinvention ready for use. Figs. 3 and 4 are details.

In the use of the well-known safety-stop system for automatically applying brakes on any train which attemptsl to pass a safetystop when at danger 77the locomotive is supplied with what is now well Iknown as aA truck-machine, which consists,essentially, of a truck mounted on the lower end of a vertical rod and a vent-valve opened by the upward movement of that rod, the opening'of that valve' applying the brakes and each safety-stop when at danger causing the upward movement of that vertical rod. In that system as heretofore used only one truck-machine is used for one train, and the object of my invention is to make that system applicable practically to trains in which all or several of the cars are motor-cars-as, for example, to trains of electric cars under the system known as the unit7 system ofv propulsion, when any one of the motor-cars may be the head car of a train.

My invention consists in an additional valve controlling the ow of air from the train-pipe to the vent-valve ofthe truck-machine, which additional valve is automatically opened when the motorman applies his operatinghandle to the electric controller and closed automatically when that handle is removed, the'new result being that the truck-machine is made ready for operation automatically when the motor-car on which the motorman operates the train is made ready.

In the drawings, A is the electric controller, too well known to need description, and B is what is commonly called the engincers brake-valve, also well known, except that Ik use a T connection in order to obtain two outlets, one for the train-pipe b, the other for the truck-pipe b. To this T connection I attach casing D, which contains the additional valve d and its stem d. The cap d2 serves to close casing D after the valve and its seating-spring are put in place.

The electric controller A as usually madel has a cover over the socket for the handle of the controller, and I modify this cover a by mounting it on a lever a', in order that a rod a2 may be attached to the cover in such a way that when' the cover is moved to one side the rod a2 will unseat valve d, and thereby connect truck-pipe b with train-pipe b. I also prefer to use a lock on cover a or on lever d; but that of course is optional. The lock, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is of ordinary construction.

The operation is as follows; The motorman to apply the handle moves cover a to clear the socket of electric controller A; but in do ing that he automatically unsea-ts additional valve d, and thereby renders the truck-machine of that motor-car operative, while the truck-machines of all the other motors of the train remain inoperative, for the reason that the additional valves d of these cars remain seated. p When the train passes over a safetystop at safety, the truck f of the truckmachine will not come in contact with the arms of the safety-stop, which are then depressed; but as it is highly important that those arms shall be elevated as soon as the truck of the head car has passed them the truck of each of the following cars will come in contact with those arms, and the vertical rod f will be thereby moved upward; but this will be an idle movement, for the reason that the additional valve CZ of each following car is seated, cutting off connection between train-pipe b and truck-pipe b'. Should the train attempt to pass over a safety-stop at danger,7 the truck fon the head car strikes the arms of the safety-stop, rod f is moved upward, and the cone f2 on that rod moves stem f3 of the vent-Valve f4 and unseats that valve, thus venting truck-pipe h', and thereby venting train-pipe b and applying the brakes. The detent f5 holds vent-valve f4 open, as usual.

What I claim as my invention is In combination with an engineers Valve and an electric controller, the truck-pipe, its Vent-Valve, means for operating' the ventvalve, an additional valve controlling the passage from the engineers Valve to the truckpipe, and a connection between that addixo tional valve and the electric controller such that when the controller is made ready for operation the truck-machine is also made ready for operation.

BENTON C. ROWELL. Witnesses:

J. E. MAYNADIER, CAUSTEN BROWNE MAYNADIER. 

